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Moixa Unveils New Smart DC Power Technology to Reduce Peak Energy Use

October 17, 2011 by Jeff Shepard

With energy bills rising and growing concern on future energy supply, Moixa, which has been leading €1.4m of R&D projects funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the EU, is unveiling an energy solution that it says could help all homes reduce energy, and help the Government towards 2020 renewable energy targets.

The ’Smart DC’ device – a home energy control center – will communicate with smart meters (soon to be installed in every home in Britain), to help manage the home’s energy sources including cheap off-peak electricity and power from renewable energy sources including solar panels. The Moixa variable dc technology helps reduce the trillions of kwh lost annually through inverters and ac-dc adaptors, as a growing proportion of demand is dc in computing, electronics and now LED lighting. Furthermore, it maximizes the efficiency of Micro-generation such as PV Panels, batteries or fuel-cells, which are growing local dc sources.

The impact is to enable greater efficiency and reducing peak demand by shifting dc power for lighting, electronics and computing to batteries charged from afternoon PV or at off-peak prices.

With every home set to receive a Smart Meter and plans for Time of Day prices, the technology could help reduce peak energy demand and customers’ billsby powering household essentials at cheaper times. The system could also be easily installed in millions of urban households under the new Green Deal, and help customers learn about their household energy use and save money and wasted energy.

CEO Simon Daniel comments, "With DC demand growing with the Internet of Things driving a rise from 6bn to 50bn portable devices by 2020, and peak energy facing significant pressure, our technology can reduce energy when the nation needs it, but allows consumers to use energy when they want to".

CTO Chris Wright comments, "We’ve seen the impact of FIT in encouraging increased PV panel adoption, but now we wish to see a FIT 2.0 that encourages reducing energy when it matters – at peak times, which is where efficient battery storage is so essential".

The Moixa stand is also an exemplar for ’Made in Britain’, as the showcased technology was invented & designed in Britain by Moixa Technology, and built locally by Moixa and British partner companies such as Photonstar (LED Lighting), GB-SOL (Custom PV panels), Secure (Smart Meters), Contactum (Light switches), and the stand custom built in London by UntoThisLast using computer controlled manufacture.

The "Smart DC" stand was supported by the Technology Strategy Board and BIS (Business Innovation & Skills), as part of forming a new Special Interest Group on ’Efficient Building DC Electrical Systems". With global momentum growing on dc storage in Japan (following the Tsunami), and dc efficiency in data centers in the US, the UK now has a focus for improving Electrical Efficiency in the built environment through Smart dc technologies.

It’s not just about lower bills, lower carbon or energy efficiency. If the power grid ever fails, (as seen in Japan, with Arab Spring unrest, or occasional outages in Oxford or the west coast of the US), Smart DC and storage technologies can continue to power lighting, electronics, computing, alarm systems and communication. Moixa plans to act as a ’UPS for Britain’ – continuing to power such essentials if the grid ever fails, and to help prevent it failing by reducing grid peak demand.

Moixa believes consumers need such efficient and reliable energy to cope with their increasing demands for power for electronics and computing, and uncertainty over future supply. Consumers don’t just need data which can be annoying or boring, they need reliable energy and for it to be affordable and clean.

More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.